Liz’s Flick Picks: The Hunger Games

Movie: The Hunger Games

Rating                        

Writers: Gary Ross, Suzanne Collins, Billy Ray

Director: Gary Ross

Rated: PG-13 intense violent thematic material, disturbing images

Recommended: Anyone who read the book. WARNING: This was based on a book. I will be referencing the book in this review. If you are that interested in reading this, you’re going to have some homework. First read the book, then watch the movie, and then you may read this review.

Cast:

Jennifer Lawrence: Katniss Everdeen

Josh Hutcherson: Peeta Mellark

Liam Hemsworth: Gale Hawthorne

Woody Harrelson: Haymitch Abernathy

Lenny Kravitz: Cinna

Amandla Stenberg: Rue

Willow Shields: Primrose Everdeen

This week in Liz’s Flick Picks, we’ve got a movie that has the whole school buzzing. I will be referencing the books in this review, so if you didn’t read the books yet and you don’t want to be spoiled… DO NOT READ BEYOND THIS POINT!!!

You have read the books. You fought with your friends about who’s better, Peeta or Gale. You have been waiting for months for this movie. And the wait was worth it.

The Hunger Games takes place in a world where America as we know it has fallen and Panem has taken its place.  After a rebellion the Capitol has punished the 12 districts by sending one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 to compete to the death until one tribute is left. Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence), the girl tribute from District 12, and her fellow tribute Peeta (Hutcherson) try to survive the arena and to prove to the Capitol they are more than a piece in their games.

The whole book was told from Katniss’s point of view. But the movie let us see more of what was going on during the actual Hunger Games, the control room especially. It was all futuristic, and it was like a computer game almost. The Gamemakers are sitting around a huge hologram projector and they are starting fires, sending in mutts, anything to control the fate of the Hunger Games. The movie, unlike the book, also lets us see some interaction between President Snow and Seneca Crane when they were talking in President Snow’s garden. It added a different point of view to the whole storyline with Katniss later in Catching Fire.

Little Rue. I cried both in the book and in the movie. No moment in the movie could be more emotional than the death of Rue. Rue represents what the Hunger Games are all about, killing children, in this case innocent children. Rue was only 12! She was not even a teenager yet, and she got stabbed by a spear in the chest. Rue’s death scene was sad for both her district and for Katniss. This was very compelling and emotional in both the book and the movie. It was more emotional in the movie because you are actually seeing the death itself. When you are reading it, that’s one thing; on screen it is just heartbreaking to see.

Katniss’s dress for the opening ceremony was disappointing. It was simply a black dress or suit with flames coming out from the carriage. But her dress for the interviews was very pretty with the bright colors and the flames on the bottom. The dress could be used for prom. Cinna as a character was very cool. He was exactly as I pictured him in the book. He looked normal, and that’s what Katniss liked about him. Cinna didn’t congratulate her on her death sentence. He felt sorry for her and wanted to make her stand out from all the other tributes.

Haymitch was not how I pictured him in the books. I pictured this old man dressed as a slob, growing this enormous white beard, always carrying around a bottle of whiskey in his hand. I was very disappointed that they didn’t show the scene where he falls off the stage because he is so drunk. It could have lightened the mood! I would have loved to see Haymich drinking more and see him as the drunk that was described in the book. I did however like his laid back attitude in scenes with Effie Trinket. I loved how she was very upset with Katinss after her little incident with the gamemakers, but Haymitch gave her a thumbs up and said “Good Job, Sweetheart!”. Haymitch is still my favorite character. I just want to see him more drunk.

They added one scene where Haymitch is watching a father give his son a toy sword and the son is chasing around his little sister with it. That scene shows how these kids growing up in the Capitol are different from kids growing up in the districts. The districts are poor, and the district kids are scared that their name will be chosen for the games. The kids in the Capitol don’t have to go through that fear. This scene reflects our society’s divisions. The upper class are living the dream while the middle class are working their butts off. Then the poor are working until their bodies are worn out.

President Snow is one of those villains that don’t appear evil. He’s an old man that kind of looks like my grandfather. That’s what the good villains are. He like all villains thinks that he is doing something good for society when he  is actually a dictator. He is making these kids fight to the death for something that happened way before they were even born. He reminds me of other dictators in our own history and in our pop culture. President Snow is like the Emperor in Star Wars. The Emperor is using people to get what he wants, and that’s to be in control of the galaxy. President Snow is using the districts to get all the goods that the districts make and using their children to kill each other for his own amusement.

The ending could have used some work. The ending was indeed rushed. Right when they get picked up by the Capitol hovercraft, it cuts to Haymitch and Katniss talking on the balcony and then straight to the interview. The interview should have been extended and should mention Peeta getting the prosthetic leg.

Overall, the Hunger Games was a great film. They did leave out some important scenes, such as when Rue and Katniss  talking and the Avoxes, but I was glad what was on the screen. The people who contributed to this film did a wonderful job. I hope Gary Ross comes back to direct the sequel. The Hunger Games gave a new layer to the book and gives different point of views other than Katniss’s.  I’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews about the film. If you want to express your thoughts about the movie leave a comment below. The Hunger Games is now out in theaters.